Looking Back: 40, 50 Years Ago in Conway History (May 1971 & 1981)

Everyone has certain songs they can listen to endlessly on repeat without ever tiring of them. For me, two of those songs celebrate very special milestones this month.

How Much More Can She Stand was written by Harry Compton, half of the Compton Brothers whose cover of the Gene Simmons hit Haunted House reached #11 in 1969. (Coincidentally I have a 1968 concert recording of Conway performing Haunted House with a little assistance from drummer Porkchop.) They introduced How Much More Can She Stand to Conway prior to a show in Wisconsin.

"One of the Compton Brothers got me off in the dressing room back there," Conway later recalled, "and said, 'Boy, we got a song here that we wrote, and we really believe in, and we pitched it to everybody in Nashville and everybody hates it. We think it's good, and we value your opinion and'd like to see what you think about it.' So they sang this song to me, and I said, 'You mean to tell me that everybody in Nashville turned this song down? Well, I'm glad, 'cause I'm not turnin' it down - it's gonna be my next single.'"

Conway kept his word and recorded the song, even bringing Harry in to sing the high tenor harmony parts. The record debuted on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart on March 20, 1971, and beelined to the top of the charts on May 8th, 50 years ago this week. In fact, it hit #1 in every trade publication available at the time - Billboard, Cashbox, Record World, and RPM.

My personal opinion is the song was turned down by so many artists because no other had the vocal range and power to pull it off!

Written by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, Rest Your Love On Me was originally pitched to Johnny Rodriguez. Johnny recorded the song, as did The Bee Gees and even The Osmonds, but Conway's version is the one that has stood the test of time, reaching #1 40 years ago this week on both Billboard and Cashbox. The B-side of the single, I Am the Dreamer (You Are the Dream), also received a fair amount of radio airplay, leading the record to be listed as Rest Your Love On Me/I Am the Dreamer (You Are the Dream) on the national charts.

One of the first Conway CDs I bought as a teenager was his Silver Anniversary Collection and I remember playing Rest Your Love On Me over and over, equally mesmerized by the beauty of his voice, the lyrics, and the lengthy electric guitar solo at the end.

Which of these Conway classics is your favorite?

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